Latest / Jablam Sports Hockey / Minnesota Wild 2026-2027 Season Preview: Quinn Hughes Is Giving Me A Headache

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Minnesota Wild 2026-2027 Season Preview: Quinn Hughes Is Giving Me A Headache · Jablam Sports Hockey

• 0:00
  SPEAKER_00: Dells red wings at six Panthers and Blue Jackets at 615 Sabres and Canadian 630 Capitals and Hurricane 645.
• 0:13
  SPEAKER_00: Every 50 am I gonna be flipping every 15 minutes tonight?
• 0:17
  SPEAKER_00: What is going on?
• 0:18
  SPEAKER_00: Welcome to Jablan Sports Hockey, your home for everything happening around the NHL.
• 0:24
  SPEAKER_00: I'm your host, Peter Bogerno, and every episode we break down the biggest topics all hockey fans are talking about with writers, TV, and radio experts from all 32 teams.
• 0:34
  SPEAKER_00: We're still doing our season previews, 32 episodes.
• 0:39
  SPEAKER_00: Today we're doing the Minnesota Wild.
• 0:41
  SPEAKER_00: I've got on this show AJ Frederickson.
• 0:44
  SPEAKER_00: Welcome to the show, AJ.
• 0:45
  SPEAKER_01: Hey Peter, thanks so much for having me.
• 0:47
  SPEAKER_01: Excited to talk a little hockey, excited to talk a little Minnesota Wild, and I appreciate you uh giving me the expert title for this episode.
• 0:54
  SPEAKER_01: I I like to just kind of spew takes and spew uh hockey talk into the mic, so I appreciate uh the expert tag uh and compliment getting thrown my way as well.
• 1:04
  SPEAKER_00: Uh, your producer and you do the wild, cover them in the wild, and we will get into trending now and talk about a captain who is out for a bit.
• 1:15
  SPEAKER_00: Let's drop the puck.
• 1:19
  SPEAKER_00: Last season, Minnesota finished third in the central, tough top division, and lost to Colorado in the second round of the playoffs.
• 1:29
  SPEAKER_00: What needs one thing for this team to happen again, possibly, for them to make at least a second round or further this year?
• 1:40
  SPEAKER_01: Um, I'll tell you the two things that come to mind.
• 1:42
  SPEAKER_01: One and the one that I think wild fans after last year's um exit in the playoffs, it's health.
• 1:49
  SPEAKER_01: Health has to be a major factor because last year in the playoffs, um, I think any wild fan will tell you when they think of defense, the top two players that come to mind are probably Jules Ericssonek, uh, the best center they have on the roster right now.
• 2:02
  SPEAKER_01: I know he's not a number one center for a lot of teams, but for the wild, he is uh about as good as they come in the two-way department.
• 2:07
  SPEAKER_01: And then on the back end, Jonas Brodeen has been a defensive stalwart for this team since being drafted uh back in, I want to say, I believe he was the 2013 draft selection for them.
• 2:17
  SPEAKER_01: Um, but he has been around for such a long time.
• 2:20
  SPEAKER_01: He's been just such a steady eddy type of guy on that blue line where they both go down in the playoffs.
• 2:26
  SPEAKER_01: Um in having those guys out of your lineup, I think in part was one of the biggest reasons why they just weren't able to hold their own uh in that second round matchup and and led to the accident.
• 2:37
  SPEAKER_01: And then the other one is the one that has been kind of hanging around their uh their heads all off season and frankly, maybe in their 26 year history, and that's trying to acquire, speaking of Eric Seneck not being the number one center for a lot of teams, acquiring a number one center.
• 2:49
  SPEAKER_01: Uh, and that's where Dylan Larkin, if the Red Wings maybe uh figure out the direction in which they want to go and uh can settle on an offer from Bill Guerin, they can work out a deal and add him to the roster, and then uh who knows what can happen.
• 3:01
  SPEAKER_01: But those are the two things that come to mind for me.
• 3:05
  SPEAKER_00: Interesting that you mentioned that.
• 3:06
  SPEAKER_00: What do you think the Wild would offer for a Dylan Larkin?
• 3:12
  SPEAKER_01: The one name that I think is an automatic starting point for Detroit because I'm not sure how their market and fan base feels about him, but as somebody who sees him every night and has watched him um all last year and his rookie year, kind of knew about him since being drafted.
• 3:28
  SPEAKER_01: But Danilo Yurov is a young, up-and-coming center who I think since day one has sort of looked the part.
• 3:36
  SPEAKER_01: There's a lot of underlying analytics when it comes to hockey.
• 3:39
  SPEAKER_01: And I think anybody that watches it and knows the sport can admit, like, yes, those are fun.
• 3:43
  SPEAKER_01: And I I look at those quite a bit.
• 3:45
  SPEAKER_01: I reference those a lot, but the eye test I think is the true thing that trumps all.
• 3:50
  SPEAKER_01: And this guy just sort of looks like an NHL.
• 3:54
  SPEAKER_01: He has the uh the physicality, he's got the defensive acumen, and that was the big thing of him last year, kind of setting in, being able to play both ways.
• 4:02
  SPEAKER_01: Um, but the coaching staff and with John Hines and the GM Bill Guerin sort of sat him down at the end of last year and said, Hey, you look good.
• 4:10
  SPEAKER_01: We love your game, but here's what we want to do in the offseason, and that's have you develop more offensively, because this guy was put in a position where he had, if he just had a little bit of finish to his game, he's he's a Russian player, but if he was a tad finish, uh, I guess pun intended here, he probably would have had 10 more goals, maybe 20 more points to his name, just because of how many times he was in golden opportunities and just couldn't put the puck in the back of the net.
• 4:35
  SPEAKER_01: Um, so they have tasked him with stepping forward and being a little more aggressive in the offensive zone this season through six games.
• 4:42
  SPEAKER_01: We've seen it a little bit more.
• 4:43
  SPEAKER_01: He had a goal, actually, funny enough, um, last night on the back door, beating uh Carter Hard in that 3-1 win for the wild on Monday night.
• 4:51
  SPEAKER_01: But alas, uh moving forward, I think he's probably the starting point.
• 4:55
  SPEAKER_01: But then it comes down to what Detroit probably wants.
• 4:58
  SPEAKER_01: The word from them has been they want like an equal player in terms of ready for the NHL right now.
• 5:07
  SPEAKER_01: Yerov is an NHL player.
• 5:08
  SPEAKER_01: I think he contributes to that Detroit lineup, but moving forward, I think they're gonna have to change their tune a little bit to more of a futures-centric thing.
• 5:17
  SPEAKER_01: And that's where do they want to pull a Charlie Stramel from the Minnesota Wild, their top prospect, who's currently down um in the AHL with Iowa?
• 5:24
  SPEAKER_01: Do they want to look to Rieger Lorenz, who just played in his second career NHL game last night?
• 5:29
  SPEAKER_01: I like Riger Lorenz's game a lot.
• 5:31
  SPEAKER_01: Coming out of the NCAA with Denver, has pretty much done it at every level, and he's got all the stuff to his game: physicality, playmaking, hockey sense.
• 5:41
  SPEAKER_01: Um he's got a pretty good shot as well.
• 5:43
  SPEAKER_01: Or do they want to go somewhere else?
• 5:45
  SPEAKER_01: I'm not exactly sure.
• 5:46
  SPEAKER_01: I think the ship has sailed for the wild in terms of you're not trading a Jesper Wolfstead with Gustavson on LTIR right now.
• 5:52
  SPEAKER_01: Otherwise, your main goalie is Calvin Pickard.
• 5:55
  SPEAKER_01: Um, and then they're gonna have to probably look to do some sort of salary dump.
• 6:00
  SPEAKER_01: So it comes down to what the wild can actually, I guess, sweeten the deal with to try to get them to take a Yakov Trenian or something along those lines to free up some money to bring in a Dylan Larkin if that deal comes to fruition.
• 6:12
  SPEAKER_01: I think also it just comes down to will who who's gonna budge first?
• 6:16
  SPEAKER_01: Will Dylan Larkin expand his trade list to teams that can actually afford and trade for him?
• 6:21
  SPEAKER_01: Or will Denver and not Denver, excuse me, Detroit, will their front office finally say, We're sick of this whole situation.
• 6:28
  SPEAKER_01: The fan base doesn't want him here, he doesn't want to be here.
• 6:30
  SPEAKER_01: It's a it's a whole thing in the locker room.
• 6:32
  SPEAKER_01: We're gonna take probably less than what we were expecting to, and uh we'll we'll do that deal with the wild.
• 6:38
  SPEAKER_00: You mentioned uh Gustin being out, he did go uh in the offseason for hip surgery, and now they just placed him on long-term injured reserve a couple of days ago.
• 6:52
  SPEAKER_00: Of course, that throws in Jesper Wallstead into the main 1A spot.
• 6:59
  SPEAKER_00: How concerned are you about the goaltending situation while Philip Gustinson's unavailable?
• 7:06
  SPEAKER_00: And what's going to be the workload, like you mentioned, between Wallstead and Pickard?
• 7:12
  SPEAKER_01: Uh, well, funny enough, as we sit here talking uh to each other at about 5:30 Eastern time on uh Tuesday, the 13th of October, the Wild are the only team to still not have a backup goaltender start a game in this season.
• 7:27
  SPEAKER_01: That will change tonight, obviously, with Puck Drop up in Winnipeg as Calvin Pickard finally gets the nod.
• 7:32
  SPEAKER_01: But the workload is going to be Walstead, Wallstead, Wallstead, and then more Wallstead.
• 7:37
  SPEAKER_01: Uh, John Hines has said he's not afraid to give the 23-year-old starter um a heavy workload because I think at the end of the day, they know they're expecting back about a month, month and a half into the season.
• 7:47
  SPEAKER_01: Gustafson should be fully healthy and good to go.
• 7:50
  SPEAKER_01: Obviously, a little bit of a ramp up period will be needed before we see normal Gus Bus, but um it's gonna be a heavy, heavy Jesper Wallstead spotlight for the time being.
• 7:58
  SPEAKER_01: And frankly, I'm not too concerned.
• 8:01
  SPEAKER_01: I love this kid.
• 8:02
  SPEAKER_01: He has been um just following his career since they traded up actually a few years ago to actually draft him.
• 8:09
  SPEAKER_01: He's kind of gone through topsy turvy, rough times in the AHL with the Iowa Wild, who probably did him no favors.
• 8:16
  SPEAKER_01: There was a small stint where he came up and made his NHL debut.
• 8:20
  SPEAKER_01: And then there was this pivotal moment, at least in my eyes.
• 8:24
  SPEAKER_01: After a loss at home in what was one of his first few starts with the wild, he kind of was just talking to the media and cut open a vein about some of the things that he was going through personally and his emotional stuff, and you know, how tough it can be being a guy having these expectations and whatnot.
• 8:42
  SPEAKER_01: But then over the offseason, he kind of matured mentally, he found his own game.
• 8:47
  SPEAKER_01: I'm not sure exactly what happened, but he got in a good headspace.
• 8:50
  SPEAKER_01: And last year, when he kind of stepped in with it when this 1A, 1B, I mean, he has been fundamentally sound.
• 8:58
  SPEAKER_01: He's been a beacon of of uh just consistency in the wild net.
• 9:02
  SPEAKER_01: And now through the first six games of the year for the wild, he's been more than okay.
• 9:07
  SPEAKER_01: And he was a little harsh on his own play last night.
• 9:09
  SPEAKER_01: I thought he was just fine, but uh he for a 23-year-old, I think has the he approaches every single start like he's a seasoned vet at this point, but he's so technically sound that uh you're not gonna see many flashy saves from him just because that means he's out of position, which he really isn't all that much.
• 9:27
  SPEAKER_01: So I'm not super worried.
• 9:28
  SPEAKER_01: That being said, now and I'm knocking out what here, Peter.
• 9:31
  SPEAKER_01: If he gets hurt, then uh sound the alarm because I have as much as confident as I am, yes for Wallstead, I'm anything but with Calvin Pickard, even though I hope I'm wrong, I just haven't seen him yet this year.
• 9:41
  SPEAKER_01: What I saw in pre scenes from him was uh not ideal.
• 9:46
  SPEAKER_00: I can say I believe a lot of fans across the league do like what they've seen out of Wallstead so far, but it'll be interesting to see him play in '84 game season.
• 9:58
  SPEAKER_00: The Wild were top five in defense last year, and now with Guston and Brock Faber out long term, how much damage will that do to them to trying to achieve again being uh that high in defense this year?
• 10:15
  SPEAKER_01: I mean, it's a massive hit.
• 10:16
  SPEAKER_01: I think Bill Guerrin actually didn't know he was doing this um at the time just because this trade happened before the Brock Faber injury in the in the preseason finale against Dallas.
• 10:27
  SPEAKER_01: But he made that deal sending Jake Middleton and some, and I think it was a pick or two to uh Calgary in exchange for Blake Coleman and Olimata.
• 10:36
  SPEAKER_01: One that was sort of a salary dump, but you get back a good back and forth two-way player in Blake Coleman, who's obviously aging in his 30s now, but has defensive acumen, can kill penalties if needed.
• 10:47
  SPEAKER_01: But then Oli Mata, who is for as much of a wild card Jake Middleton is and was with the wild, um a lot of ups, definitely a lot of downs.
• 10:57
  SPEAKER_01: Oli Mata is kind of like that steady pulse of solid, solid defense.
• 11:01
  SPEAKER_01: I know he battled injury last year, but so far he has looked great.
• 11:05
  SPEAKER_01: He's uh in a couple games, I want to say led ice time for the wild.
• 11:08
  SPEAKER_01: He's been he's just been so steady on the back end.
• 11:11
  SPEAKER_01: So Brock Faber being out for this extended period of time, it's a massive hit.
• 11:15
  SPEAKER_01: Um, I'm not gonna act, I'm not gonna sit here and say like the wild aren't gonna miss him.
• 11:19
  SPEAKER_01: They do desperately.
• 11:21
  SPEAKER_01: But I this is a point that on on uh the show that I do uh with the Score North Network, Judd's hockey show.
• 11:28
  SPEAKER_01: I was talking to my uh to to the the main host Judd Solgad, and I was like, I think they can tread water for a little bit.
• 11:35
  SPEAKER_01: We and granted, we don't we don't really know the timeline for Brock Faber at this point still.
• 11:39
  SPEAKER_01: Um, and I think rightfully so they're keeping it pretty close to the chest in terms of we it's a very scary thing, um, yeah, uh a skull fracture, and everybody reacts differently.
• 11:52
  SPEAKER_01: We have seen a you know, just in general knowledge of it, players it it frankly ends their career.
• 11:57
  SPEAKER_01: We've also seen John Carlson miss, I think it was three months, uh back in I want to say 2021, came back, and we we know that he's been fine ever since.
• 12:06
  SPEAKER_01: So um there's just such a big question mark there, and you don't really know, and it's not one to say, well, if they can just hold off until this date or this month, and then all of a sudden they're getting this guy back in their lineup.
• 12:17
  SPEAKER_01: We don't really know, but uh for the time being, they seem to be doing okay.
• 12:22
  SPEAKER_01: But I I think this one will probably wear on them more so um than the goaltending to start this season.
• 12:28
  SPEAKER_01: This is one where guys are gonna get banked up, they're gonna block shots, they're gonna need nights off and whatnot with with games stacking up here early in the portion of the season.
• 12:36
  SPEAKER_01: Wild start on the road, 21 of the first 31 games are away game.
• 12:40
  SPEAKER_01: So um that will take a toll on this team.
• 12:42
  SPEAKER_01: We'll have to see how that can uh can, I guess, just handle so far.
• 12:47
  SPEAKER_01: But they are in within their structure one of the better defensive teams in the league.
• 12:51
  SPEAKER_01: And I think that does start with uh with John Hines and the game plan he implements night in and night out.
• 12:57
  SPEAKER_00: I highly don't recommend putting magnets inside your helmets.
• 13:03
  SPEAKER_00: Uh, I hope Bach Faber's gonna do well, but also Nico Sturm, I believe, right?
• 13:10
  SPEAKER_00: Uh yes, yeah.
• 13:11
  SPEAKER_01: Last night I we I was actually at that game um just kind of taking it in, and it was uh funny enough.
• 13:17
  SPEAKER_01: I I should say not funny enough, but um unfortunately the odds of that happening within two weeks of each other to the same team is I mean you you can't you can't you can't script it.
• 13:31
  SPEAKER_01: Um it's a shot that uh I forget which one came uh who whose stick it came off of this time around, but similar setting, Nico Stern on that.
• 13:43
  SPEAKER_01: I think but continue.
• 13:46
  SPEAKER_01: No, I think I think you are right because that was in the offensive zone, but um a shot shot comes in, just kind of shoots up and catches him right in that ear hole on the side of the helmet on the right side.
• 13:58
  SPEAKER_01: And this one, like the Brock Faber one was weird because he goes down and I think you know he gets up right away immediately, skates off.
• 14:06
  SPEAKER_01: He came back out.
• 14:06
  SPEAKER_01: They took a TV timeout, he came back and I think played the next shift or two, and then he just didn't come out for the next period um after they went into intermission.
• 14:14
  SPEAKER_01: This one was immediate effect.
• 14:16
  SPEAKER_01: Nico Sturm goes down, um, clearly in some paint, gets up and needs to be helped off.
• 14:22
  SPEAKER_01: And I mean, you could hear a needle drop um at at Grand Casino Arena in St.
• 14:27
  SPEAKER_01: Paul last night.
• 14:28
  SPEAKER_01: So incredibly scary.
• 14:30
  SPEAKER_01: I hope I know Nico Sturm um not super well, but just with my interactions with him, about as personable as a guy can be.
• 14:40
  SPEAKER_01: He like genuinely an incredible human, um, super, super nice, down to earth.
• 14:46
  SPEAKER_01: Um, I I you know if they he he like he doesn't wear a letter for that team, but I know he uh is one of the guys that is looked up to in that locker room.
• 14:56
  SPEAKER_01: I I really hope that it's uh nothing super serious, but also I know the wild medical staff and training staff, I'm sure, are taking zero shortcuts or you know, they're playing it about as safe as possible, just with two weeks ago, Brock Faber's thing.
• 15:10
  SPEAKER_01: So um it sounds like we don't have an update yet, as uh, you know, we're not even 24 hours since um that incident last night.
• 15:18
  SPEAKER_01: But um, it sounds like everything they did last night was about as precautionary as it can be, just in the sake of making sure we go through the steps and uh take care of his health.
• 15:28
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, hopefully uh both of them heal well properly and earn better uh physically and mentally soon enough.
• 15:38
  SPEAKER_00: Uh let's go continue on more of the defensive theme here.
• 15:43
  SPEAKER_00: Quinn Hughes is entering the final season of his contract, and everybody's talking about across the league.
• 15:51
  SPEAKER_00: What's the future with him and Minnesota?
• 15:55
  SPEAKER_00: Uh, they've already extended Bill Guerin, the general manager, after he made the blockbuster trade uh last year.
• 16:03
  SPEAKER_00: So, what are the chances of Bill Garren extending Hughes?
• 16:08
  SPEAKER_00: And what will the fans' response be if Guerin loses him for nothing?
• 16:17
  SPEAKER_01: I I mean Bill Garin is the reigning GM of the year for a reason, and so I think that uh if it does end up getting word, um, which I this is just me spec.
• 16:30
  SPEAKER_01: I am just frankly, they they're keeping they're about as uh good of a poker doer as possible because they don't really have the hints or anything that could leave, there's no signs and whatnot.
• 16:40
  SPEAKER_01: Um, so my own personal read of the situation is Bill Garin hasn't gotten word by any means that Quinn Hughes doesn't want to extend.
• 16:50
  SPEAKER_01: Um but that being said, I all summer I said, Hey, if you don't have him by opening night extended, that's when I start to get a uh a little nervous.
• 17:00
  SPEAKER_01: Well, we're we're about two weeks since then, so I'm a little nervous, Peter.
• 17:04
  SPEAKER_01: Um, this is the guy that you just simply like you said, you can't afford to lose.
• 17:08
  SPEAKER_01: And I think wild fans would rightfully so be up in arms.
• 17:11
  SPEAKER_01: That being said, if that's the case, I don't think you can go back and say, Well, they they never should have made that trade, he never should have done the deal.
• 17:18
  SPEAKER_01: He he's such a transformative player, he is so impactful night in, night out, that um, I mean, he he immediately raises any team's floor.
• 17:29
  SPEAKER_01: I don't think it's a term issue, I don't think it's a money issue.
• 17:35
  SPEAKER_01: They're I they're willing to go to the 20.8 mil max that um that that uh legally with how the rules are set, they're able to do.
• 17:45
  SPEAKER_01: It's really just gonna come down to what Quinn Hughes decides.
• 17:48
  SPEAKER_01: And I I don't blame him one bit.
• 17:50
  SPEAKER_01: If I was in his shoes, take your time.
• 17:53
  SPEAKER_01: This is a massive life decision.
• 17:55
  SPEAKER_01: Um, on one hand, I do understand he you have family in the NHL.
• 18:00
  SPEAKER_01: Not anybody, not everybody has that.
• 18:02
  SPEAKER_01: I think ESPN put out a stat today that was like there's 17 sets of brothers, which actually seems high uh playing in the NHL this season, but it's such a low percentage chance of you having not one but two brothers to potentially play with.
• 18:16
  SPEAKER_01: I understand the fantasy and like the desire to go do that.
• 18:19
  SPEAKER_01: On the other side of it, though, you're all darn good hockey players.
• 18:24
  SPEAKER_01: Like you were about to make over 20 million.
• 18:27
  SPEAKER_01: Jack, um, last time I checked, is he making 10 or 12?
• 18:31
  SPEAKER_01: Um, and I know I know Luke's making nine, so that's so much cap.
• 18:35
  SPEAKER_01: And granted, we're in a league, we're in a in a situation.
• 18:38
  SPEAKER_01: Excuse me, no, Jack's making eight only.
• 18:40
  SPEAKER_01: So I actually thought that I thought he was making more.
• 18:42
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, a lot of those New Jersey guys are low because they were all signed a few years ago before this uproar gap.
• 18:49
  SPEAKER_01: It's well, I I will say still, I mean, to have what would be essentially 30 about what 37 million dollars combined on three players, which not nothing against the Hughes boys.
• 19:04
  SPEAKER_01: I don't know if they're all physically impeding guys in the sense where when you get to playoff hockey, you got to have some of those bruisers and your lineups and power forwards.
• 19:14
  SPEAKER_01: You're gonna have to do more than just have them.
• 19:15
  SPEAKER_01: So it is a little tougher right now, I think, to make that work for any GM, whether it's Bill Guerin, whether it's um Sunny out in uh in New Jersey.
• 19:23
  SPEAKER_01: So I think he's gonna have to just actually decide one of these days, hey, do I want to or do I not want to?
• 19:30
  SPEAKER_01: But Bill Guerin, I he, I mean, one, if if there's a deal to get done there, he's not gonna hesitate.
• 19:36
  SPEAKER_01: Um, he always looks to make this team better.
• 19:39
  SPEAKER_01: And you're if you're making a deal sending out Quinn Hughes, frankly, you're not gonna win that deal.
• 19:44
  SPEAKER_01: Like that's that's just a matter of fact.
• 19:47
  SPEAKER_01: But he has also gone on the record sort of just saying this is not like a transformative quote or anything by him, but he has kind of threw out the there's you can't waste years when you're in a Stanley Cup window.
• 20:01
  SPEAKER_01: The Wilders sort of in that window, they have guys locked up contractually that uh like Matt Boldy, as much as I just said Jack Hughes, that's a that's a steal at eight mil.
• 20:11
  SPEAKER_01: Matt Boldy, who had scored 40 plus goals last year, he signed a$7 million deal for the next four years, including this one.
• 20:17
  SPEAKER_01: Um, you have guys like I guess granted, it it's brought we we just discussed Brock Faber, but if Brock Faber's healthy and in your lineup, he's making eight and a half until I think like 2033 or 2034.
• 20:29
  SPEAKER_01: Um Kroka Prizov just began his 17 million dollar deal, which Wild fans are freaking out.
• 20:34
  SPEAKER_01: I think now that we're into the Leo Carlson slash you know, Macklin Celebrini slash Converdart, that 17 is a little less uh heart pounding, but that's a lot of money for one guy.
• 20:47
  SPEAKER_01: They have these other contracts to where they're able to make it work and they have I think depth.
• 20:52
  SPEAKER_01: I know that was one of the talking points by national media and other people outside of Minnesota, which is you know, outside of the top six forwards, they don't really have much.
• 20:59
  SPEAKER_01: The bottom six are built in my mind for playoff hockey.
• 21:03
  SPEAKER_01: So I think if he wants to go and say, okay, three more years trying to win in Minnesota, and then I walk, nobody's gonna be upset about that because by that time you should have won a Stanley Cup.
• 21:15
  SPEAKER_01: And if he if you lose him for nothing at that point, oh well, I you know, think thanks for the thanks for the trophy.
• 21:20
  SPEAKER_01: And if not, you at least made a shot at it, which I know I probably differ than a lot of fans at that uh at that sentiment.
• 21:28
  SPEAKER_01: So it's uh it's an ongoing situation here in Minnesota when it comes to him.
• 21:32
  SPEAKER_01: That I know myself, a lot of other people that were at Grant Casino Grand Casino Arena last night, just around the state, kind of want to get resolved, and it's just one or the other.
• 21:41
  SPEAKER_01: Let us know if you want to stay, let us know if you want to go.
• 21:44
  SPEAKER_01: Uh, we we have as an organization have to move on.
• 21:47
  SPEAKER_00: Hey, some teams are trying to build around the Hughes brothers, some teams are trying to build their bottom six around the Felino brothers, right?
• 21:54
  SPEAKER_01: Uh hey, don't knock, don't don't knock Marcus and Nick.
• 21:58
  SPEAKER_01: Those guys are bruisers, man.
• 21:59
  SPEAKER_01: They uh And I know I know it's more of probably a tongue-in-cheek thing, but yeah, um it it's incredible watching those guys play.
• 22:06
  SPEAKER_01: And unfortunately, now Nick Felino hurt, Marcus Felino hurt.
• 22:10
  SPEAKER_01: Um, so we didn't get too much of that here to start the season, but it uh I will say the acquisition of Nick last year was sort of it shows you how good he used to be because Mark Marcus definitely has like some hockey skill, and when they acquired him from Buffalo back in the day, I mean I it was one of those okay, you can get excited about it.
• 22:32
  SPEAKER_01: Then he started playing.
• 22:33
  SPEAKER_01: It's like, okay, I I see why they went out and got this guy.
• 22:36
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, Nick Felino, you could see why he was so important to that Columbus team for so many years before leaving and going making a couple other stops.
• 22:44
  SPEAKER_01: Um, why he was actually probably named probably why he was named the captain in Chicago for his short tenure there.
• 22:50
  SPEAKER_01: Like, this guy is a leader, he's vocal, he's he just has it, and like the hockey sense is still there despite the age.
• 22:56
  SPEAKER_01: So um, impact impactful for sure on that fourth line.
• 22:59
  SPEAKER_01: I just hope that those guys can get healthy and we can see him back on the ice sooner.
• 23:03
  SPEAKER_00: Hey, being in the Toronto market here, I know Lee fans loved their dad, Mike, and his jumping up and down in the playoffs, and going back to the Quinn Hughes situation.
• 23:18
  SPEAKER_00: This market here on the Raptors enjoyed having Kawhi for that one year, right?
• 23:25
  SPEAKER_00: I messaged all my basketball buddies.
• 23:28
  SPEAKER_00: I'm like, hey, the Raptors got Kawhi, they're gonna lose to the uh they're gonna lose in the finals to Golden State, so we're all good.
• 23:37
  SPEAKER_00: What happened?
• 23:38
  SPEAKER_00: Hey, Golden State had a couple of injuries, a little bit of luck of the bounce, and the raptors are the champions, right?
• 23:44
  SPEAKER_00: So you always swing big for big players like a Quinn Hughes.
• 23:49
  SPEAKER_00: So I'm happy for uh the wild getting a guy like that, and I have no clue why some people thought, hey, that's a bad trade.
• 23:57
  SPEAKER_00: No, you always swing for the fences for great players.
• 24:03
  SPEAKER_01: All right, yeah, absolutely.
• 24:04
  SPEAKER_01: And that's and that's the thing, like and I and that's where it goes back to like I understand um the Quinn Hughes situation of wanting to play with your brothers, but I would say take maybe a and this is a tongue-in-cheek thing just because I do want them to stay in Minnesota.
• 24:18
  SPEAKER_01: Uh, but look at what the Felinos did.
• 24:20
  SPEAKER_01: They're doing it sort of the sunsets of their careers, they're both older, it's more manageable contracts.
• 24:26
  SPEAKER_01: Three more years, and then hey, when you're all closer to that, you know, that ripe age of 30, then you can have the family reunion, whether it's in Minnesota or New Jersey, or maybe I know them they're a big Michigan uh crew out there in you know, in Detroit, maybe they go to the Red Wings, and when that's all cleaned up, who knows?
• 24:43
  SPEAKER_01: But uh for right now, you try to win.
• 24:45
  SPEAKER_01: Try to win.
• 24:45
  SPEAKER_01: Look at the start that those devils have had, not been uh not been too hot.
• 24:49
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, and spinning back to the circle, we know the Michigan Captain Boy once out of Detroit.
• 24:55
  SPEAKER_00: Uh, let's go.
• 24:56
  SPEAKER_00: The Wild, of course, have two major offensive weapons now.
• 25:00
  SPEAKER_00: You mentioned Matt Boldy now becoming such a great player, especially with the season he had last year, and of course, Kyrill the Bill Caprizov.
• 25:11
  SPEAKER_00: What are the expectations for these two this season?
• 25:14
  SPEAKER_00: And do you think they can take another step forward offensively?
• 25:18
  SPEAKER_01: Uh, I'll start with Kirill Caprizov, and I think this is an interesting chapter of his career because he obviously came over late from Russia, had that kind of I think was a two or three-year extension that Wild fans are sort of dreading.
• 25:30
  SPEAKER_01: Um, so a later start than he was expecting when in uh when he made his NHL career.
• 25:35
  SPEAKER_01: So he just played in his 400th game last week at one point on that road trip for the wild, but he's 29.
• 25:41
  SPEAKER_01: Like he he he's got only 400 games in his belt at the uh age of 29.
• 25:46
  SPEAKER_01: He'll be he'll be 30, I want to say in sometime late winter.
• 25:50
  SPEAKER_01: But this is a guy that's making uh 17 million dollars now.
• 25:53
  SPEAKER_01: And the thing for him is on the other side of his line, you don't have Matt Zuccarello, which I think is like the first time in his career.
• 26:01
  SPEAKER_01: Um, they parted ways with Zuccarello over the offseason, and now he's out in LA.
• 26:06
  SPEAKER_01: Um, unfortunately, I saw he just got put on IR the other day, but um he doesn't have that kind of PB and J connection anymore, that kind of teammate to lean on that he has had for the past handful of seasons with uh with the wild.
• 26:21
  SPEAKER_01: So it's it's one of those things where it's a brand new chapter of you just have to be a superstar.
• 26:25
  SPEAKER_01: You you're good enough.
• 26:27
  SPEAKER_01: Uh, you have these expectations.
• 26:29
  SPEAKER_01: There should be no off nights, there should be no whatever.
• 26:32
  SPEAKER_01: Uh, there's really no excuses, especially if you're healthy.
• 26:36
  SPEAKER_01: You should be a guy that is putting up, I think, 90 points minimum.
• 26:41
  SPEAKER_01: Um, and frankly, I think he can get to that 100 or 110 uh mark because he is simply that good.
• 26:47
  SPEAKER_01: But we'll have to see.
• 26:49
  SPEAKER_01: Um, I I think he one of the things that has been a problem with him just in his early parts of his career is he has the skill and you can tell he's a superstar, but he hasn't really driven a line at times.
• 27:02
  SPEAKER_01: Um, I think that's changed most of last year.
• 27:05
  SPEAKER_01: And then we've already seen it this year.
• 27:07
  SPEAKER_01: He's elevating.
• 27:08
  SPEAKER_01: Um, at first he started off it was a Russian line across the top with Yurov and then uh Shibonov, who they recently signed after he left uh New York, the Islanders last season.
• 27:18
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, that now they John Hines had to shake things up just to get a couple guys going.
• 27:22
  SPEAKER_01: Matt Boldy had a slower start to the season than I think many be people expected, but it's uh Caprizov, Eric Snake Boldy.
• 27:29
  SPEAKER_01: That line was dynamite last night uh against Vegas.
• 27:32
  SPEAKER_01: I mean, every single shift impactful because of the fact that Krill Kaprizov, I mean, he he he's just kind of in his bag right now in the best, the best possible way.
• 27:41
  SPEAKER_01: Um he's dealt with injuries on and off, but uh when he is a hundred percent this guy, I I think the expectation should be um funny enough, what one of the uh contributors that we have at Score North, her name is Kirsten Krull.
• 27:55
  SPEAKER_01: She's the in uh in arena host for for wild games, but she comes on our on our pod once a week.
• 28:01
  SPEAKER_01: But her hot take was he should have like a 50 goal season minimum.
• 28:05
  SPEAKER_01: Um, and I don't think that's super outlandish because this is a guy that should be shooting the puck more um and not have the temptation to dish over to Sucarello.
• 28:13
  SPEAKER_01: So um he's got the shot, he's already got um, I think through 400 games, he is like the fourth or fifth highest scoring player in NHL history.
• 28:24
  SPEAKER_01: So he's got the goal scoring pedigree.
• 28:26
  SPEAKER_01: Um, it's just staying healthy, I think, for now 84 games of an NHL season, and then flipping over to Matt Boldy, uh, we saw him kind of come out of his cocoon into this like consistent superstar all of last year.
• 28:38
  SPEAKER_01: There was these these spots where he'd have a week or two of just being this awesome player, and then okay, then he kind of disappears and he would need to get a talking too.
• 28:47
  SPEAKER_01: And it was that kind of back and forth of are you ever gonna take that step from budding, blossoming, you know, talented kid to superstar grown adult?
• 28:59
  SPEAKER_01: I think we saw that last year, and I think grown adult, he's 25.
• 29:02
  SPEAKER_01: Um, but 40 plus goals last year.
• 29:05
  SPEAKER_01: Uh, a guy that Bill Garrett at one point expects a 50-50 season for him at some point.
• 29:09
  SPEAKER_01: Um, and I don't hate that at all.
• 29:12
  SPEAKER_01: The guy is on the top power play, he's got a good playmaking ability, he's got great hockey sense, um, and his shot is uh up there, at least for one of the best ones I've seen in a wild sweater in a long time.
• 29:23
  SPEAKER_01: So he slower start to the season, but I think the floodgates are open now at gold and back-to-back games.
• 29:29
  SPEAKER_01: Um, when he is hot, he is as hot as they come.
• 29:33
  SPEAKER_01: So those two guys should be the catalyst for a lot of the wild offense, especially when on the back end you've got a guy like Quentin Hughes for the time being, at least, and I say that once again, somewhat tongue in cheek.
• 29:42
  SPEAKER_01: Um leading the rush out of the zone from the defense, uh defensive area.
• 29:48
  SPEAKER_00: And you can check on my sub stack, my award predictions.
• 29:52
  SPEAKER_00: I do have Kyrill in the top five for the Rocket this year.
• 29:56
  SPEAKER_00: Time for some trending now.
• 29:58
  SPEAKER_00: Rod Brender.
• 30:00
  SPEAKER_00: Huh?
• 30:00
  SPEAKER_00: Sorry, yeah, yeah, yeah.
• 30:02
  SPEAKER_00: Let's do it.
• 30:02
  SPEAKER_00: Looking forward to it.
• 30:03
  SPEAKER_00: Uh Rod Brindermore tells reporters the Consmyth trophy winner, Jordan Stahl, their captain, has a tyrannous calf and will miss significant time, maybe a couple of months.
• 30:16
  SPEAKER_00: How much is it a factor for teams missing long-term an important captain to their team?
• 30:25
  SPEAKER_01: I I mean, I think it's uh it's a huge blow.
• 30:28
  SPEAKER_01: Just speaking from personal experience watching the Minnesota Wild, they have gone stints without Jared Spurgeon, who uh named captain, uh permanent captain after Miko Koivu, um, I guess left slash retired a few years ago.
• 30:43
  SPEAKER_01: When they're without him, I mean you have guys step up in ways that uh I think maybe they don't expect to.
• 30:48
  SPEAKER_01: And I think it does take a toll on the locker rot be having that kind of like the the the the person that you look to, there's sure there's vocal leaders all around, but only one person can wear a C.
• 31:00
  SPEAKER_01: Now, granted, I will say every captain is is different.
• 31:03
  SPEAKER_01: I don't want to, I don't want to say Jared Spurgeon has the same level of leadership as as Sidney Crosby or an Alex Ovechkin by any means.
• 31:12
  SPEAKER_01: But within every locker room, it's a community, it's a family, and uh the person that wears the C, whether it's you know a higher pedigree of player versus not, uh they're beloved, and there's a reason why they have that letter on their chest.
• 31:25
  SPEAKER_01: So stall being out for the hurricanes is uh I think gonna take a toll.
• 31:30
  SPEAKER_01: But I think they do have a lot of just from the playoff pedigree that we've seen, they've got leadership in that room to where I don't know if it'll be the worst stretch for them.
• 31:39
  SPEAKER_01: Uh, but I think if you're gonna more look to down the road when he gets inserted back in and gets healthy, they're gonna get a massive boost.
• 31:46
  SPEAKER_01: Just having him back on the ice.
• 31:49
  SPEAKER_00: AJ, thank you for joining me.
• 31:51
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, of course, Peter.
• 31:52
  SPEAKER_00: Thank you again.
• 31:53
  SPEAKER_00: That's it for this episode.
• 31:55
  SPEAKER_00: Fans, remember to subscribe to the show and you're listening app.
• 31:58
  SPEAKER_00: And if you have any questions, follow us on X at Jablam Sports.
• 32:02
  SPEAKER_00: See you next time.